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| Weekly Update | June 7, 2010 |
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Partnership for Safe
Medicines (PSM) Joins with Irish Patients Association to Combat Counterfeit
Medicine Threat
T.D Minister for Health
Mary Harney Attends International Dialogue with Leading Industry, Health,
Government Officials, Regulators, Law Enforcement and Patient Advocates DUBLIN (June 4,
2010) - Citing
a growing, public and borderless health threat posed by the availability of
primarily counterfeit prescription medicines around the globe, the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM)
today joined with the Irish Patients Association (IPA) to urge the development
of a strong public-private partnership across Ireland and the European Union. |
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"Make no mistake, this
is a decades-old challenge that has direct implications for the safety of the
Irish and European drug supply," Scott LaGanga, executive director of PSM,
told the gathering. "By soliciting ideas from all concerned stakeholders,
including industry, government and patients who rely on life-saving medicines
every day, we can implement collaborative solutions that address the problem
head on."
"Stated simply,
counterfeit drugs deny patients therapies that can alleviate suffering and save
lives," said Stephen McMahon, Chairman of the IPA. "Only through
strong public-private partnerships working nationally and internationally can
we achieve a positive and long-term outcome."
According to data by the
Pharmaceutical Security Institute (PSI), drug counterfeiting has increased by
9.2 percent worldwide over the past year. Other key survey findings include:
- Variety of Pharmaceutical
Products Increasing: There were 808 types of counterfeit pharmaceutical
products identified in 2009, up more than 36 percent from 2008.
- Geographical Locations More
Diverse:
Counterfeits were detected in 118 countries in 2008.
- Counterfeit Drugs Going
Wholesale:
In 531 incidents, counterfeit products reached licensed wholesale
distributors and/or pharmacies in 48 different countries. 472 of the 978
counterfeit medicine seizures made by law enforcement were of
"commercial" size.
A recent report titled
'Cracking Counterfeit Europe', ranked Ireland
sixth worst in Europe for counterfeit medicine
activity. The same report also found that the counterfeit medicines market in Ireland could
be worth more than €86m a year.
"As
we have seen by joint collaborative efforts led by the Partnership around the
globe in countries ranging from India
to Ireland,
if we make the right decisions and strategic choices today, we have an
opportunity to reverse these trends and ensure the safety of the Irish people
for decades to come," LaGanga concluded. |
Top News
New
Study Highlights Dangers of Counterfeit Lifestyle Drugs
A new
study, conducted in South Korea and slated for presentation Monday at the
American Urological Association annual meeting in San Francisco, finds that not
only can counterfeit lifestyle drugs be contaminated, they may contain too much
of the active ingredient or none at all. The drugs could especially be
dangerous for men with hypertension or heart disease, the study found. Fifty-eight
percent of the drugs studied had too much active ingredient, sometimes as much
as 2.4 times more, while 3 percent had no active ingredient at all. Some
contained potential toxins, including mercury and lead. ("Dangers Lurk in
Impotence Drugs Sold on Web," Business Week, May 31, 2010; Story
here)
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World News
Dubai: Officials Seize $70 Million Worth
of Counterfeit Drugs Authorities
in United Arab Emirates have
seized several million counterfeit and illegal drug doses from a warehouse in Dubai, according to a
report in The Gulf Today. The counterfeit drugs were allegedly stored at the
warehouse by a worker at the company without the knowledge of his employers.
The value of the haul is estimated at $70 million and included a number of
lifestyle medicines and dietary/herbal supplements. ("Dubai Customs seize counterfeit
medicines," Securing Pharma, June 2, 2010; Story here) China: Bus Patron Found Carrying
Counterfeit Drugs A passenger
at a Shanghai
bus station was detained for allegedly dealing in counterfeit drugs. Shanghai
Food & Drug Administration said after inspection that the 200 bottles of
human serum albumin (HSA) found in the suspect's luggage did not contain real
proteins, which would cause serious harm if anyone took the drug. The passenger
said he bought the batch of HSA from people outside the city was about to carry
the drug back to his home town Taixing in neighboring Jiangsu Province.
The case is still under investigation. ("Man Detained over Counterfeit Drugs," Shanghai
Daily, June 2, 2010; Story
here)
India: Policy Group Confirms Presence of
Counterfeit Drugs in Indian Cities
A report
published by the International Policy Network found that 7 percent of drugs
purchased from wholesale traders in Delhi
were substandard, with half of these were found to contain no active
ingredients at all. Some of the counterfeit drugs contained chalk or talcum powder
mixed with a pain reliever. Overall, 12 percent of sampled medicines from Delhi pharmacies and 5
percent of those from Chennai outlets were found to be substandard. Analysis
of the samples is still ongoing. ("Survey measures substandard medicines from
Indian traders," Securing Pharma, May 28, 2010; Story here)
Read the full report published by the International Policy Network here.
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Events
The Drug Information Association 46th Annual Meeting When: Sunday, Jun 13, 2010 Where: Washington D.C. Description: Link
here 5th Global Pharma Manufacturing Summit When: Monday, Jun 14, 2010 Where: Boston, MA Description: Link
here Global Pharma Authentication When: Monday, Jun 14, 2010 Where: Munich, Germany Description: Link here 4th Annual Pharmaceutical Anti-Counterfeiting Strategies
Conference When: Tuesday, Sep 7, 2010 Where: London, UK Description: Link here
PSM's Inaugural 2010
Interchange
When: Friday, Oct 8, 2010
Where: Washington, D.C.
Description: The Partnership for Safe
Medicines invites you to save the date for an intimate conference
bringing together patient groups, providers, pharmaceutical company quality
experts, enforcement personnel, policymakers, regulatory agency experts and
other interested parties to discuss key issues around counterfeit drugs and
other unsafe medicines. Link
here. |
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About the Partnership for Safe Medicines
The Partnership for Safe Medicines is a group of organizations and individuals that have policies, procedures, or programs to protect consumers from counterfeit or contraband medicines. For more information, please visit SafeMedicines.org.
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